Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing That Yellow "Engine" Light

Came on today...

The engine is running normally, oil pressure is normal, temperatures normal, so what causes it?

Someone said it is to do with the lambda sensors, or could be an exhaust leak by the cats.

Advice and guidance most welcome, most importantly do I need to stop driving it?

Get yourself an OBD2 Bluetooth adaptor and load Torque on your Android phone
http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/139312/

With that you can see what the error is and if it is something to worry about. You can even cancel it.

There is another thread where someone had trouble of this kind with a Roadster
http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/139314/1

Yes indeed it was I. They plugged in and it was a p71 and a p70 error code translated, it was running lean on both banks. Had plenty of power but now with the light out and a new fuel pump fitted it is quite a bit more of a handful. Could possibly be some thing else tho as there are numerous codes it could throw up to you. Cheers

The latest 2009 Roadster 100 problem was found by the factory to be caused by a slight fuel leak around the Tank Sensor found using a pressure test. Prior to this latest of a series of resettings, the car has done thousands of miles.

Another had an earthing problem from the Fuse Box solved by adding an extra earth cable.

Most others seem to be Lambda or Catalyst related but need to be resolved by getting the ECU back to the factory, preferably on the car.

If you buy a tester it may be worth speaking to Mark Baldwin at the Factory to ask what Code Numbers are likely to be causing the fault as they have dealt with oodles of these and said that dealers should be gathering a list of faulty codes to 'switch off'.

OBD II code reader example - (Maxiscan MS300 less than £20 on Amazon & comes with manual & a list of codes)

I know nothing of the technology, but this happened on my Roadster 100 in 2010.

Was told then to wait for the red dashboard ignition light to go out before firing the engine, by which time (five seconds) the computerised engine start up procedure is completed.

This has become habit ever since and no subsequent problems.

Heard many Roadster reports of this annoying dashboard warning light illuminating repeatedly.

Have never heard of any consequential damage.

Good luck,

Thanks to everyone!

I was happy working on and servicing my New Bonneville bikes but the last car I had to service was my Ford 105E....! One of the reasons for getting the Roadster was to have something that needed more owner involvement than the modern German boxes, good though they are, that we have in the drive.

Clearly I need an OBD connector and software to connect to my PC.

Question: where is the OBD connector? Inside the aluminium box with all the electronics?

The connector should be under the dash...usually just to the left of the steering column. You don't need a laptop, an inexpensive reader off the Internet will do the job. Get one that allows you to reset the fault code.

I opened the bonnet of my Roadster yesterday.....compared to my Sigma it is a mass of wires, sensors and pipes

My OBD port is under the dash in the passenger footwell. So it could be either side. It looks a bit like a SCART socket.

Have you looked under the spare wheel?
More stuff there, no idea what most of it does, but I suspect to do with emission controls....

Will search out the OBD connector, agree all we need is to read and then delete the silly ones. I sent a message to Henry Williams and he said that the 3L Roadsters have far too many error code possibilities, including one if you over fill the tank....Doh!

My 2009 Roadster is occasionally throws up an error code. I usually check what it is on the list, and if its insignificant, i will delete it. The S2 Roadster is prone to EML faults.

Neil

Just looked under my dash. There is a dangling socket but a lot smaller than the socket on my 2010 4/4. Could it have an ODB1 rather than OBD2 socket?


Also, looking in the fusebox under the bonnet, there is this strange box of tricks! Any idea what it is for?

It's a mini Interocitor

David,
In 2009 my friends MK2 Roadster a 2008 had the error code for low fuel pressure on one of the banks. Within a month the factory had to fit a new engine due to damage caused by this issue. It was not a one off there were other cars with similar outcomes.
Dave

My plus8 light came on last year.

Connected an Autel unit to it and it showed
"Intermittent misfire".
I reset it.
Checked plugs/leads
It came back once but not since
Your OBD plug will be near the steering column as they have to be positioned within a certain distance of the column.

OBDII is 16 pin plug
My 4/4 CVH had a Ford 3-pin type

If that device isn't an Interociter it could be a Warp Drive interface...?

Jay, my Morgan doesn't have that strangerounded end box....perhaps "they" are tracking you!

The OBD socket is under the dash, about central and has 16 sockets, but a good few have no input wire....!

More once I've had it hooked up.

Turns out it is a" below range reading" from Lambda sensor No 1 Right.

So nothing of any consequence and my pal with the OBD Computer re-set the syatem. He suggested, and Mike at Williams agrees that it is better to ignore it for now. If it happens regularly then might be worth investigating further.

It would seem that the 3L Roadsters are rather prone to this error.

I had endless problems with the lambda sensors on my 4/4 Sport after fitting my Librands exhaust. I ended up keeping an OBD2 reader in the car to set it!

I'm tempted to do something with the exhaust on the Roadster but don't want to start up problems with the lambdas or make it too noisy. A nice deep burble would be just right!

Didn't the problem go away when you fitted the TBs and Omex?

They did Peter. My lambda sensor failed again on the way over to the factory to get the throttle bodies fitted and Mark Baldwin told me it wasn't an issue as the new ECU ignored the lambda readings and relied on the mapping for emissions.

Oh so it wasn't that they actually got the cat to work, they just resolved it by ignoring the problem

There never was a "cat problem", let me explain....

Each cat has 2 lambda probes, one on the inlet side and one on the outlet side. Lambda probes measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. In a car with a "closed loop" system they also indirectly measure the fuel air mix in the engine.

The right inlet probe gave an out of range reading, indicating that the fuel/air mix went out of range for a moment. The cause? Possibly there is an air leak diluting the gas mix out of range, or the probe malfunctioned or some other cause. Or just some dirt from the exhaust valve came off and hit the lambda sensor for a moment till it burnt off. There are many possibilities.

If the error message is from the downstream sensor then it is possible the cat isn't working. In my case the cat is fine.

Is that all clear?

The correct solution is to clear the error message and see what happens: if the error returns further investigation is needed, if it doesn't come back it is safe to ignore the first error message.

I think Peter (Gambalunga) is referring to Jays 4/4 Sport, which did have a Cat problem...

After 20,000 miles the exhaust on Aldermog has a nice deep burble with an occasional "pop..pop...pop on the over run and a hard snarl at above 5000 rpm. Grgeous.

Peter.....I think I'll wait for a few more miles to build up.....only up to 900 miles now and hopefully the sound will develop!

Graham....my cat never was faulty, the lambda probe was. On the Librands exhaust system you only fit the precat probe, the after cat probe is redundant.

Ah! On the other hand we have what is essentially the Plus 4 SS system plus the second sonda lambda sensor which checks the functioning of the cat (in compliance with homologation regs.). Unfortunately in our case there are times when the cat does not get hot enough to function, or cools down, and after a certain period programed into the ECU the light comes on.

Gas analysis tests indicate the functioning of the cat is marginal and this is in part due to the longer exhaust manifold but I am reliably informed that it can also be contributed to by tiny variations between one engine and another.

One thing that we may try is a faster upstream sensor which may help a little by adjusting the fuel mix a little sooner.

The Service Manager at Williams said that the lambda probes used by Morgan are not the best and they have had a number of failures and a larger numbers of "slow" sensors. So possibly more expensive "racing" sensors might solve most problems.

A week later and the light has stayed off.

Seems it was a one off problem, possibly caused by me moving the air intake?
When I got the car it was pointing down in front of the block, I lifted it so it now sits above the top of the radiator, for some ram air effect.....